


Snowflakes and Steel Wrapped in a Bow

by ScorpioSkies



Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Christmas Fluff, F/M, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-08
Updated: 2017-01-08
Packaged: 2018-09-15 15:31:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9241784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScorpioSkies/pseuds/ScorpioSkies
Summary: In which Knight Brooks gives Nora a very thoughtful gift- in a very thoughtless manner.A late Christmas present for the amazing Kat123!All OC's belong to her!





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kat123](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kat123/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Shadow of Steel](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7764328) by [Kat123](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kat123/pseuds/Kat123). 



“Ah, ah, ah! No peeking, Nora!” Brooks grinned, clapping his hands over her eyes. “This is supposed to be a surprise, you know! Can’t have you spoiling it for yourself!”

“It won’t be much of a surprise if I end up in the med-bay, Brooks!” Nora protested, her hands blindly groping the air in front of her. “You keep letting me walk into things!”

“Oh ye of little faith!” Brooks chuckled, propelling her along an unknown corridor of the Prydwen. “With me as your eyes and ears, you’ve got nothing to worry about!”

“Tell that to my toes…” Nora muttered, trying to ignore the way that they were still throbbing painfully. Under Brook’s ‘guidance’, she had walked straight into an armoured knight, two doors, three crates, tripped over Emmett and almost fallen down a flight of stairs.

_And he says I have nothing to worry about…_

“We’re here!” Brooks suddenly announced, finally removing his hands from her eyes.

She blinked, finding herself standing at one of the Prydwen’s doors.

“So… is my present through here?” She asked, turning to face the grinning Knight.

“Well, it _will_ be!” He replied smugly, the twinkle in his eyes giving Nora a strong sense of foreboding. “You just go ahead and wait out there and I’ll bring it to you shortly, wrapped in a big red bow!”

Nora pursed her lips and folded her arms, wondering if this was yet another of his infamous pranks. His title as the Prydwen’s problem child was well earned.

“Awww come on, Nora!” He pleaded, pulling his best puppy-dog expression. “I _promise_ you, you’re going to _love_ it!”

She heaved her shoulders in a sigh, shaking her head even as she reached for the handle.

“Fine, but don’t keep me waiting too long. It’s snowing outside, you know.”

Brooks smirked, glancing down at his watch.

“Oh don’t worry. It’ll be five minutes tops, promise!”

 

* * *

  

The forecastle. Knight Brooks had her standing on the freezing, wind-beaten forecastle in a snowfall. Her teeth were beginning to chatter by the time she reached the steel railings, peering over them and into the airport below.

 _If I’d known it was going to be_ this _cold, I’d have just told him to buy me a jacket,_ she thought, hugging herself for warmth.

She watched as the snow danced upon air currents, creating a shifting veil between her and the Commonwealth far below. Snowflakes planted cold kisses upon her bare cheeks and dampened her hair, catching upon her eyelashes. The sight was beautiful, but she wasn’t convinced that it was worth the cold.

_If Brooks doesn’t turn up soon, I’m heading indoors, present or no present…_

No sooner had she finished the thought than she heard the door open. She turned around, expecting to find Brooks carrying a gift in a red bow, but was instead greeted by a familiar azure glare.

Elder Maxson’s expression softened considerably when he recognised her and he closed the door behind him, a relieved sigh escaping his lips.

“Knight Taylor,” he greeted, smiling beneath his beard. “I didn’t expect to find anybody up here, though your company is, as always, welcome. Is there a particular reason you’re waiting in the snow?”

“I-I’m w-w-waiting for someone,” she chattered, smiling as he strode towards her. “W-what brings y-you out here?”

“The search for peace and quiet,” he replied, halting in front of her with a slight frown. “Are you cold?”

“A l-little,” she shrugged, brushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

Arthur raised his hands and began unbuttoning his coat.

“Come here,” he murmured, drawing her to him and closing the coat around her.

Nora’s eyes widened slightly as she was pressed nose-to-chest with the Elder, but she found herself smiling all the same, snuggling up against him.

“Better?” He asked, his voice rumbling in his chest.

“ _Much_ better,” Nora grinned, looping her arms about his waist. She felt the comforting weight of his arms through the coat, holding her to him and she silently prayed that Brooks didn’t make a sudden appearance with his present to spoil the moment.

It was so rare for her and Arthur to spend time together these days, what with their respective duties and so many people watching all the time…

She felt his fingers run through her hair and raised her head to look at him, only for their eyes to meet. Her heart skipped in her chest and she swallowed, glancing between his eyes and his lips.

He began to lean down towards her and she parted her lips slightly, closing her eyes.

The kiss was slow and intense, full of the passion they could not openly express.

She felt his hand cup her cheek, his calloused fingers cold but sending warm sparks through her. Her own hands began to wander, trailing over his flight suit as she felt the hard muscles beneath.

He broke their kiss, panting slightly and smiling a boyish grin that made him look much closer to his twenty years.

He chuckled, stroking his thumb across her cheek.

“You’ll have to be careful, Knight,” he whispered huskily, the blue in his eyes notably darker. “You’re dangerously close to making me lose my decorum…”

“Isn’t that the plan, sir?” Nora enquired with a devilish grin. “So that we can keep warm?”

Arthur’s response was to kiss her again, this time with greater urgency.

A powerful gale surged across the forecastle, drenching them in a storm of snowflakes and causing them to gasp at sharp drop in temperature.

Arthur turned his back to the wind, shielding Nora from the worst of it as she buried her face in his chest.

“As much as I enjoy having you to myself,” he called, raising his voice to be heard over the keening wind, “I think it’s about time we head indoors.”

Nora was sorely tempted to protest his suggestion, but she knew that for all his bravado, he was likely feeling the cold, too. That and the fact that the snow was _definitely_ getting worse.

Sighing, she snuggled against him, imprinting the moment to memory before pulling away to meet his gaze one last time.

She leaned up and placed a final, chaste kiss upon his lips.

“I miss you,” she said quietly, her voice barely audible over the wind.

Arthur swallowed, a bittersweet smile touching his lips as he slipped his arms around her.

“I’ll try and work something out soon,” he murmured softly. “I promise.”

With great reluctance, they made their way towards the door, though Arthur ensured she stayed within the shelter of his coat as they walked.

When Nora’s hand closed about the handle, he stepped away and just like that they were Knight and Elder where mere moments before they had been Arthur and Nora.

Sighing sadly, she pushed down on the handle… and frowned.

She tried again.

“Is something wrong?” Arthur asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.

“It’s stuck,” Nora frowned, rattling the handle vigorously. “I can’t get it to open.”

“Let me try.”

She stepped to the side, watching as Arthur’s larger hand closed about the handle and pressed down, to no avail. He locked both hands around it, pushing down with all his weight.

It moved a little further, but not enough to open the door.

To Nora’s growing concern, when he released it, the handle did not return to its former position.

“D-did you break it?” She chattered, her eyes widening at the thought of being trapped outside in the middle of a brewing snowstorm.

Arthur’s jaw squared and he shrugged his coat from his shoulders, draping it around her.

“I’ll get this door open, one way or another…”

 

* * *

 

The forecastle door flew open and Elder Maxson swept inside, his eyes blazing with fury. Snow encrusted his beard, hair and eyebrows, cloaking his broad shoulders in white. Had he not looked so terrifying, the scene might have been comical.

He drew one side of his coat back and Knight Taylor emerged, shivering with snowflakes glittering in her hair.

They both fixed their eyes upon the shocked Aspirant who had opened the door and let them back inside.

“Soldier,” the Elder growled, drawing himself to his full height. “I want one of Proctor Ingram’s scribes working on this door _immediately._ The next time it jams in this weather, it could result in a fatality!”

“B-but Elder Maxson, sir!” the Aspirant stammered, “I don’t think it was the door, sir!”

Maxson’s eyes narrowed.

“Explain yourself.”

“W-well I found a chair jammed under the handle, sir!” He explained, pointing to where a chair was set beside the door.

Nora’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Maxson’s eyes narrowed in fury.

“Return to your duties, soldier.” He growled, watching as the Aspirant saluted and hurried away. He began to walk, gesturing for Nora to fall in behind him. “When I find the culprit responsible for this, there will be _hell_ to pay.” He fumed, sniffling angrily.

Nora didn’t reply.

All she could think about was the big red bow wrapped around the seat of the chair.     

    


End file.
